How to Paint a Decorative Wooden Box in 6 Easy Steps

This post shows how I take a plain wooden box and make a one of a kind box. Using original artwork some paint, varnish and a little wood burning (pyrography), you too can make a beautiful and functional piece for your home or a truly special gift. Just follow the simple steps below and in the next post.

1 Find and Prepare your Wooden Box
Wooden boxes of various shapes and sizes are available from most local craft stores. Different types of wood available can range from the lighter pine type to the better quality and more expensive basswood.

Whichever box you choose, look for an even grain and that the lid lines up with the base when closed. Avoid boxes with knots in as the wood can shrink unevenly. Also if you are allowing most of the wood to show in your design, look for boxes that are not pieced together with wood pieces of widely different shades. Unless of course the contrast is to be part of your finished look.

When you get your box home lightly sand your box, in the direction of the grain, with fine grade paper to make sure you have a smooth even surface to work on. Pay attention to edges of lid and base where they touch for splinters. The inside of the box should be smoothed as well whether it is to be painted or left unfinished. Wipe off any dust with a soft cloth when satisfied with the finish.

2 Taking your Idea and Choosing a Subject
Now you have a box ready to become a work of art! I love animals and most of my boxes have .... well animals on them. Some I paint in a realistic style directly on the wood with no pyrography involved. Others, like my examples here, are in a decorative style influenced by early Arts and Crafts block prints. The designs have outlines and details burned into the wood then the colour is added.

So I decide what animal(s) I want on my box and how many surfaces are to be decorated. Where do I begin? First I need a subject to work from. Sometimes they are right in my backyard - the squirrels or foxes that visit, or bears at the zoo, horses down country roads. I use my camera to take photos for my source if I can't sketch there and then. There are lots of books on animals and pictures on the web for reference.

3 Sketching a Design and Transferring it

Having looked at books and photos I start to sketch bears in different poses and think about the scene I want to paint. For scenery I looked through photos taken on a family road trip south two years ago.


I didn't get to photograph any bears in the wild - much to my disappointment I might add. But I did photograph the beautiful mountains and rivers winding through the valleys in Tennessee and Virginia.


Now I have a few sketches and photos I draw a rectangle the size of the box front in my sketch book. I then draw my bear in the pose I want and add the background. So I now have a design that can be transferred directly to the box front.

Next I take a piece of tracing paper and trace the design. I place the tracing paper over a sheet of transfer paper on the box surface that I want the design drawn on. I draw over the design using a pencil or toothpick. The reason for this extra step is that the tracing paper is easier to place in position and draw through than the thicker art paper.

Be careful to hold the paper still while transferring your drawing. Oh, and make sure the transfer paper is the right way up. I can't tell you how many times I have drawn over the design to find I had the paper the wrong way up and have had to start again! When I have finished the transfer I look at the design and see if I want to add to the drawing directly with a soft pencil.

Transfer paper is readily available from your local art or crafts store in a wide range of colours. Choose one that is not too light, I usually choose a grey that shows up well on the light wood as on this box.


I repeat the process for each surface I wish decorated. Once I have transferred my designs to all the surfaces - the fun can start! The actual burning of the design into the wood and adding colour. How I do this is in tomorrow's post.

Kathy